I Can't Live Without You
by Stacymc2012
Summary: Set moments just after she's taken out of Somalia. A few small spoilers from S7 Episode 1, but not too many. I can't really summarize it, but Ziva admits that there are some things she can't live without. Oneshot! R


**Title: I Can't Live Without You.**

**AN: This popped into my head after hearing this line in the episode. The idea bothered me and well I had to write it! Let me know your thoughts and sorry if they're a bit OOC. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts. **

**I would like to thank one of my new friends Patrick for helping me with this story and for being so patient with me while I wrote it. I probably would've given up without your help. :)  
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**Set just moments after Tony and McGee take her out of that place in Somalia; POSSIBLE SPOLIERS OF SEASON 7 EPISODE 1 Truth and Consequences.**

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Ziva David was a strong woman. A woman who lacked tact. A woman who often lacked the ability to show emotion. A woman who was hard to read because of all the barriers she constantly put up. She was a woman who was independent; rarely cried or showed any signs of weakness and yet was able to show empathy when needed. She was amazing. In spite of all of this, she was still an amazing woman, and all of her flaws only added to her amazingness.

That is why Tony got worried when they arrived finally on American soil and Ziva sudden fell to her knees on the floor, coughing vigorously. Some blood sputtered out of her mouth. McGee panicked slightly as well; Gibbs was off speaking with an official. Considering the hell Ziva had experienced the past four months and all the torture, it was expected that she was in frail conditions, but this was not what they expected. Tony knelt down beside her and rubbed her back, "You alright, Ziva?" He asked in a gentle voice that neither expected.

Ziva continued coughing and groaned, "Y-ye-ah…"

He raised a brow, "You're kidding, right? You're coughing up blood."

"Tony, I am fine!" She snapped and then realized what she had done and was plagued with extreme guilt. Here was the man who had risked his life for her, gone into a foreign country to save her life and was nearly killed just for her and here she was, snapping at him. "I am sorry, Tony. I did not mean to-" She began coughing again, more blood falling.

McGee frowned and knelt down in front of her, "Ziva, think you can get up and sit in a chair? While I call an ambulance?"

She shook her head quickly again, rasping "N-no… Ambulance. No hospital." She gasped for air, "I can get up though…"

"Zi.. But…" McGee sighed and decided against arguing with her, "Alright." He nodded and he and Tony began to help her up once she had stopped coughing.

A small crowd had surrounded him during the course of the scenario and McGee shooed them off as they helped her up. In doing so, Ziva felt a sudden sharp pain shoot through her ribs and abdomen; she couldn't help but gasp and let out a small squeak. "Wa-wait. Wait…" She swallowed, wincing, the taste of blood still in her mouth.

Tony frowned, "What's wrong?"

"I…" She shook her head, "I… I'm fine."

"Ziva, please, tell me what's going on? I want to help." He said, still frowning.

"I… There is some… Really bad pain." She finally said after a few minutes but mostly because the pain had risen to an unbearable, excruciatingly high amount.

"Where?" McGee asked.

Just then, Gibbs walked over to them and frowned at the condition of one of his agents. She looked worse than before. "What's going on?" He frowned.

"Ziva coughed up blood and is in a lot of pain, boss." McGee blurted out before Ziva could say that she was fine.

Tony was still holding her up, his hand tightly around her waist to keep her up, even though she still had a bit of strength in her legs. Gibbs frowned, "Have you called an ambulance yet?"

"She says she's fine." McGee explained and shrugged, "She wouldn't let us."

"Well quit standing around and call a damn ambulance! Ignore what she says if she's obviously not fine!"

Just as the words left Gibbs' mouth, Ziva went limp in Tony's arms. Her legs giving out on her and she fell unconscious. Tony shifted a bit at the sudden weight in his arms as he barely caught her. She had definitely lost a lot of weight while she was away and that worried him even more. Gibbs told McGee to call the bus as he helped Tony get Ziva on the floor and tried to wake her gently.

McGee made the call and told them that it was on their way. Gibbs nodded affirmatively and watched Tony gently caress Ziva's head and whispering for her to wake up. He used a tissue to wipe some of the blood and dirt from her face and chin. As if having heard him, Ziva's eyes fluttered open and she gasped for air; the pain did not delay in making it's known in her body once more. She groaned, making them realize that she was awake again.

"How are you feeling, Ziva?" She heard a voice ask her.

But her vision was hazy as well as her mind and she was unable to distinguish voices. The intense pain she felt on her chest, and abdomen was blinding and deafening. She couldn't make out a single face but she could tell it was Tony's hand that lay over her forehead. The pain grew worse and she suddenly felt herself being lifted into something that felt like a bed. She tried to figure out what was going on and what had happened just as her vision began to clear and a flashlight was shone into her eyes, causing her to shut them quickly. She felt the bed she was on begin to much and as it did, she watched a paramedic standing beside her and someone else to her other side. She looked over and realized it was Tony and that he was standing beside her, her hand in his. He gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand, "There you are, Z."

"Tony." She smiled faintly despite everything she felt, he seemed to alleviate the pain slightly, just his presence. His touch seemed to give her some more strength.

"How are you feeling?" He whispered.

"Been better to be honest, Tony." She rasped and coughed, weakly.

He nodded, "Alright, shh, don't talk. Save your energy, hmm?"

She just nodded, far too pained to argue with him. As they loaded her into the ambulance, it was rather careless and her body moved as they tried to get her inside. She screamed lowly and bit onto her lip as her body shook and the pain worsened even more. Ziva fought against the darkness. "Hey! Be careful with her!" Tony said to the paramedics, frowning and he got inside the ambulance with her.

They closed the doors, the sirens went off and they drove quickly to the nearest hospitals. They put an IV in her arm and she flinched. Tony shot a death glare at the medic who had inflicted more pain in Ziva. Her eyes began closing slowly, but she fought to keep them open. She felt Tony gently squeeze her hand again and he said, "Hey, hey. Stay awake, Z."

She gasped her air as it escaped her once more, "Pain…Tony..." She grew weaker.

He then noticed. Her face was completely fallen; drained. Her eyes were lost, empty and had lost the spark in those dark orbs that were the reason why Tony woke every day. Her lips were chapped, dry and red from the blood she had just coughed up. Despite her lips usually having an instant sultry smile on them, this had faded as well.

Her eyes jumped and danced to a silent song of fear and panic. Though she was not one to utter a word that even meant fear, Tony heard the low requiem as if it were a volcano erupting in his ear. His heart broke and ached at the sight of her in these conditions and unable to do anything. He wanted to find the men that caused this to her and make them feel her pain.

"I know, Z, but you gotta stay awake, please?"

"Can't… Tony.." She whispered.

He shook his head, "You can, Ziva." He took hold of both of her hands, "You remember what I said earlier, right? I can't live without you, Ziva. I just can't. I mean it. I don't think I could bear losing you."

The look in his eyes told her he was sincere. However, this was the last she heard before darkness overwhelmed her before she could fight it, and the painkillers she was given was the cause.

A few hours later, Ziva was awoken by the low beeping of the heart monitor and her eyes opened slowly. She was slightly disoriented and gave herself a moment to really take everything in. She realized that she was no longer in excruciating pain, just a headache that would drive anyone mad. She turned to her left to see McGee asleep on an uncomfortable plastic hair, his mouth opened ajar. Abby had laid her head on his shoulder, asleep as well. Gibbs was there, she could tell by his jacket that was draped over another chair. She tried to move her right hand. She panicked slightly when she realized that she couldn't because there was something heavy over it.

She turned to her right and that's when she found the face she had missed her scan of the room, She smiled to herself. Tony was slumped against the chair that was semi more comfortable than the plastic one. He must have pulled it up so that it was next to her bed. Tony was holding her hand, asleep and looking peaceful. Ziva smiled to herself and put a hand over his which was over hers. She swallowed, and began thinking about everything Tony had done for her in the last 36 hours and found herself whispering to him, "I cannot live without you either, Tony."

A small smile that Ziva did not catch appeared on our sleeping Agent DiNozzo's face, as if he had heard her.


End file.
